That said, any traits can be combined, taken to the extreme and can be used for any genre and character, including your villains and antagonists. And remember, one person’s bad trait is a good one for another. That’s how we get conflicts, baby!

Let’s roll:

trigger-happy cop/agent

trigger-happy civilian

too flirty: the compulsive flirt who can’t stop even if they are in a committed relationship. It’s a reflex that annoys the hell out of their partner. Some of them will even act on it.

creepy/stalkerish

with inferiority complex

with superiority complex: These characters have inferiority complex, but mask it with narcisism.

After my romcom’s characters were criticized for being too nice by two different readers, I decided to make one big list of human flaws and bad traits. Some of them can be used to make your characters more human, and some might make them seem even less than.

It’s in no particular order, and I encourage you to add more in the comments, should you think of new ones. Remember, this list isn’t just for romcoms.

The traits are in no particular order: Some words might include others, like sociopaths don’t often have empathy, but being bad at empathy doesn’t necessarily make you a sociopath. And one person’s deal-breaker isn’t necessarily another’s.

Let’s roll:

mean/cruel/violent/abusive

psychopath

sociopath

compulsive liar/gambler

addict

stingy

overspender

arrogant

pushover

too shy

rude

elitist

not good at empathy

abuses privilege/unaware of privilege/looks down on those with privilege